Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Groups Get $60 Million To Hire Health Insurance Navigators

The money will be used to hire and train people to help consumers in 34 states which rely on the federal government for their Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges, where individuals can buy health coverage.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: $60 Million For 34 States To Boost Obamacare Enrollment
Two Planned Parenthood chapters, two United Way organizations, a food bank association and a Catholic hospital system are among 90 nonprofit groups that will receive a total of $60 million to help people sign up for health insurance, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today. The money will help people in 34 states that rely on the federal government fully or in part for their Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges, where individuals can buy Obamacare policies. States with their own exchanges have separate funding to help consumers get assistance (Galewitz, 9/8).

Kansas Health Institute News Service: Kansas Organizations Receive Grants To Help With ACA Sign-Ups
The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved will get a $468,000 federal grant to again lead the state's efforts to get residents signed up for health insurance on the online exchanges. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday announced $60 million in "navigator" grants to 90 organizations nationwide, including KAMU. KAMU plans to use about 160 navigators for 2015 enrollment, including many who helped with sign-ups last year and the navigators' efforts are being rebranded as "Cover Kansas" (Marso, 9/8).

Florida Health News: Florida Navigator Grants Total $6.8M
The University of South Florida has been awarded by far the largest grant in the state to hire "navigators" who help uninsured people sign up for health insurance coverage through the federal Marketplace, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday. This year's USF grant, of almost $5.4 million, is even larger than the $4.2 million USF received last year. ... HHS did not say why USF was chosen, but the outcome last year won widespread praise. Florida signed up more people for coverage through Healthcare.gov than any other state participating in the federal marketplace (Gentry, 9/8).

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Groups Get $3.3M To Hire Health Insurance Navigators In Georgia
Two nonprofits will receive roughly $3.3 million in grants to pay for health insurance navigators who will help Georgia consumers understand coverage options available through the Affordable Care Act’s online insurance marketplace, federal health officials announced Monday (Anderson, 9/8).

Georgia Health News: 2 Nonprofits Share $3.3 Million In 'Navigator' Grants
SEEDCO (Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation) will receive nearly $2.2 million, roughly the same as it received last year as a navigator grantee. The second grantee will be an alliance led by Macon-based Community Health Works and consisting of cancer coalitions and other organizations. It will get $1.1 million. ... Last year, the second grantee was the University of Georgia's College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Cooperative Extension Service, which received nearly $1.7 million for navigators. But UGA was barred from applying this year. A law passed in the Georgia General Assembly early in 2014 prohibits state government units from running navigator programs. Senior Georgia officials — longtime opponents of the ACA — have been critical of using navigators in general (Miller, 9/8).

Dallas Morning News: Texas Groups Get New Grants To Help People With Obamacare Sign-Ups
Federal health officials awarded a second round of grants Monday for six Texas nonprofit groups and one municipal agency to hire "navigators" who help people sign up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. "We are committed to helping Texans get covered and stay covered with in-person assistance in their own communities," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a written statement. As was true last year, Burwell’s department awarded 16 percent of her national navigator budget to Texas — about twice its share of U.S. population (Garrett, 9/8).

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